Saturday, January 31, 2015

A Happy Hello February 2015 SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to the A Happy Hello February 2015 SOTM Blog Hop. There are almost 70 bloggers participating in this hop. That might be a record - I think this is the largest number of bloggers since I started participating in August 2014.


The SOTM for February 2015, A Happy Hello, is a D-size set of 15 stamps that is only $5 with a qualifying purchase.


You should have arrived here from ***The Quilted Scrapper by Stephanie Feist***. If you get lost along the way, a complete list of participants will be found at Melinda Everitt's If You Bling It.

My project was inspired by one of the cards on page 18 in Annual Inspirations.


Before you visit the next blog on the hop, ***Adeline Brill's Creative Space***, additional information about how my project was created is below.

I used a glass mat and craft knife to fussy cut around my stamped images. I find that method faster for me than using scissors.

Supplies all from Close To My Heart except where noted:
If you are not already working with a CTMH Independent Consultant, you may purchase all of the supplies I used at my online business address.

I love to read comments so if you have a moment, please let me know what think of my card. So you do not have to scroll up, the next stop on the hop is ***Adeline Brill's Creative Space***. Thanks again for visiting today.

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CTMH February 2015 Stamp of the Month: A Happy Hello

The Close To My Heart February 2015 Stamp of the Month is A Happy Hello


A Happy Hello (S1502) is an exclusive D-size stamp set of 15 stamps that you can only purchase during the month of February 2015. The stamp set can be yours for $5 when you place an order of $50 or more in qualifying Close To My Heart Products. Alternatively you can purchase it for $17.95. Recommended CTMH My Acrylix® Blocks are: 1" x 1" (Y1000), 3" x 3" (Y1006), 2" x 3½" (Y1009), and 2" x 6½" (Y1010).

Items created with the stamp set by CTMH Corporate artists are two cards:



If you would like a list of the products used to create the above items, you will find the information in the Recipes (clicking the link will open a PDF in a new tab), a booklet that works hand-in-hand with the Idea Book to provide details to re-create any projects at home. Also check my Pinterest Board CTMH 2015 02 Feb SOTM A Happy Hello for additional ideas using this stamp set.

Please stop back tomorrow for the A Happy Hello Stamp of the Month Blog Hop.

February 2015 also brings us Album Allure


During the month of February, while supplies last, when you purchase one of Close To My Heart’s alluring coated canvas albums you will be eligible to receive a second album of your choice at half price (My Legacy™ faux leather albums are excluded). The albums are available in both post-bound and D-ring styles in three colors and patterns. The albums are perfect to use with traditional, Studio J® or pocket scrapbook layouts. They hold from 25 to 50 layouts depending on their thickness. If you order from my OBA, after a qualifying album is in your cart you will be prompted at checkout to add a discounted album. As long as supplies are available you may purchase one half price album for each qualifying album you have in your cart.

On my December 24, 2014 post I shared a video showing the album options. Also on that post is a video about the Spine Expanders (Z4120). You will want to add spine expanders to post-bound albums when you have thicker layouts to protect the dimensional elements from crushing or when your album is for a specific event and you do not want to add additional pages (the spine expanders will "fill the gap" so the posts that hold the album together are less visible).

The available album options are:

Studio J® Express Collection featuring designs from Yuletide Carol



Do not forget that this limited edition Express Collection is only available until February 28. Additional details are on my January 12, 2015 blog post.

Seasonal Expressions 1


You may recall when Seasonal Expressions 1 was introduced on December 1, 2014 that I mentioned the life of this Idea Book is only four months, until March 31, 2015 (you will find the dates at the top of the back cover). Some of the items in Seasonal Expressions 1 are seasonal in nature, indicated by a clock, and will not be available after March 31. Be sure to look at the Icon Legend in the lower left corner of page 1 and compare to the icon shown next to each item. I have a CTMH Idea Book - Seasonal Expressions 1 Pinterest Board if you would like to see items created with products in that Idea Book.

One update I would like to point out is the My Acrylix® You’re the Bomb stamp set (C1617) pictured on the back cover of Seasonal Expressions 1 is available only for the duration of the Idea Book (until March 31, 2015) even though the icon does not show that. I would also like to remind you that purchasing You're the Bomb generates a $3 donation to Operation Smile (except in AL and MA where it is excluded by due to legal requirements).

My Acrylix® You're The Bomb (C1617)
Please stop back on February 7 for the Operation Smile You're the Bomb Blog Hop.

When you are ready to order Close To My Heart products I hope you will choose to order from my Online Business Address. If you are ready to place an order or would like to research any product, the Shop Now button will take you there.


If you have any product or promotion questions, do not hesitate to email me. You will also find me on Facebook at Brenda's Paper Crafts.
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Friday, January 30, 2015

47 Weeks Until Christmas 2015

I almost made it. I was able to finish another Christmas card last night to share today, but I waited until my lunch break to take and upload the photo.



This is Christmas Tree Card (#M45211 in Cricut® Design Space) from the image set Joys of the Season. I set the height to 7 inches. This cartridge is not part of the Cricut® Image Library Subscription, but the digital version is was on sale today when I looked it up. There are six creative features on this cartridge: layers, ornament, tag, card, shadow and blackout.

I also added the images Tree Tag (#M46954) and Ornament (#M46EA7) to my project. The Tree Tag includes the base image and layers, shadow and blackout features; I hid or deleted the layers I did not need then placed the tree over the card and size it to fit. Then I did the same for the ornament.

All of the cardstock is from my stash. After assembling I added some Liquid Glass (Z679) and glitter to the top of the tree. I also added some Baker's Twine from King Arthur Flour (that I received as a gift that spool is going to last a long time) and Snowflake Rhinestones from Queen & Co. that I had in my stash.

I really love using Cricut® Design Space or Cricut® Craft Room with my cartridges. I see so many more possibilities in the shapes on screen than I do from looking through the cartridge handbooks.

I hope you find my card festive. Comments help fuel my crafty ideas so if you have a moment please let me know what you think. Thank you for looking.
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Thursday, January 29, 2015

48 Weeks Until Christmas 2015

I am sorry this post is late. Today's card should have been posted last Friday, January 23. I have been busy lately therefore I have been exhausted and not-so-crafty. I am hoping the craziness slows down soon. I have many ideas and supplies that I would like to try to create something with.


This is Holiday Cards 36 (#M4C587 in Cricut® Design Space) from Cricut®. It is a single image that you can also use with Cricut® Craft Room. I think it is part of the Cricut® Image Library Subscription, but it you do not have a subscription it is currently on sale (but I am unsure for how long). I believe it also comes with an coordinating envelope - at least there was an envelope on my screen when I inserted the image into CDS. I "eye-balled" the size in CDS but when I went to cut it I discovered it was too large for the envelope to be cut on a 12" x 12" mat so I made it a bit smaller. With the card and envelope grouped the size is listed on the Edit tab as 20.29" by 8.83". My finished card is about 5⅞" x 4½". When I make this card again, I think I will put some glitter paper under "Peace On Earth" so it pops more.

I used cardstock from my stash to create the card. I hope you like it. I also hope to be back tomorrow with another Christmas card since there will only be 47 Weeks Until Christmas 2015.

Thanks for visiting today.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Cricut® Artfully Sent: Scene Function

The week's video focuses on the Scene Function key on the Cricut® Artfully Sent cartridge (Z3017). The Scene Function key includes swing and gatefold-style cards in addition to scene cards.



The CTMH Corp. description of Cricut® Artfully Sent: Scene Function is "Close To My Heart’s Cricut® Artfully Sent cartridge is packed with beautiful and inspirational card concepts, including the “scene” function."

Some tips shared in the video:
  • each card base has a coordinating backer on the shift key
  • the backers add an additional design element to your card
  • use the Score Board (Z1937) to create crisp folds
  • use your scraps to back the cut outs to make them pop
The cards on the Scene Function key shown in the video (with Cricut® Design Space codes) are:
  • "Robot" Happy Birthday Card (#M131729) - swing card - pg 28
  • Thanks Scene Card (#M13155B) - swing card - pg 10
  • Heart House Scene Card (#M131666) - swing card - pg 19
  • Christmas Blessings Scene Card (#M131AD7) - swing card - pg 46
  • Sweet Baby Scene Card (#M1316C0) - swing card - pg 23
  • Hot Air Balloon Scene Card (#M1314C5) - gate-fold card - pg 3
  • "Paris" Eiffel Tower Scene Card (#M1314D9) - scene card - pg 6
  • Fox in Woods Scene Card (#M1314D5) - scene card - pg 5
If you would like to order Close To My Heart products I hope you will visit my Online Business Address by clicking the Shop Now button.


If you have any product or promotion questions, do not hesitate to email me. You will also find me on Facebook at Brenda's Paper Crafts.
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Saturday, January 24, 2015

Specials Ending & Products Retiring on January 31

CTMH Corporate Office has scheduled some computer systems maintenance for Wednesday, January 28 from 10pm to midnight MST (midnight to 2am EST). Online systems, including Order Entry, Studio J®, and shopping on my OBA, will be unavailable during this maintenance window. Since I am located on the East Coast this will not impact most of you, but I am sharing just in case you are having trouble sleeping that night. :-)

One week from today, January 31, some specials are ending and some products are retiring.


The January 2015 SOTM, This Moment, will no longer be available when we change the calendar to February. Additional details about the SOTM are posted here. If you are looking for "Pinspiration", please see my Pinterest Board CTMH 2015 01 Jan SOTM This Moment.


Also coming to an end is the National Papercrafting Month and the Year >> Noted paper kit will no longer be available. "Pinspiration" can be found at CTMH PROMO Year >> Noted.


There still is some time to squeak in a quick EZ-Invite/Online Gathering with a goal of earning extra hostess rewards. Additional details are on my OBA; please contact me ASAP if you would like to host an Online Gathering.

There are several stamp sets that are retiring. Please compare your wish list to the retiring stamps sets below to be certain you do not miss any that interest you.

The retiring stamp sets are:

A1124 A Tree
A1139 Congrats Graduate
A1141 Be Still
A1154 Friendly Thoughts - Jeanette's Stamp Archive
A1156 Flower Confetti - Jeanette's Stamp Archive
B1418 Love Doily
B1423 Hoppy Easter
B1439 Dreamer
B1440 Fancy Fair
B1441 Buggy Love
B1444 Greatest Love
B1445 Happy Hive - Jeanette's Stamp Archive
B1450 Owls
C1571 You're the Best
C1573 Do Your Best
C1574 Believe in Yourself
C1577 Mother's Day
C1579 Coming Up Roses - Jeanette's Stamp Archive
C1583 Robot Family
D1547 Paper Doll
D1579 Windy Day
M1035 Newlyweds
M1036 Perfect Polka-Dot Day
M1037 Balloons
M1038 Shooting Star
M1039 Good Job Stencil
M1040 Parasol
M1041 Hi
M1042 Colored Egg

All of the retiring stamps are pinned to CTMH Retiring January 31, 2015. Until the end of the month they are also shown on my OBA under Retiring Items.


January 31 is the last day that you can order from my OBA and add a free copy of Annual Inspirations to your shipment. This offer was limited to one free book per customer so if you already took advantage of this offer you will not see the prompt at checkout. The book will continue to be available for viewing at my Online Business Address (OBA) at http://brendalapp.ctmh.com/ under Products > Idea Book and you can download a printable PDF (clicking the link will open PDF in a new tab) for viewing offline. As I have done in the past, if you live local to me and order $25 from my OBA, I will provide you with a free copy of Annual Inspirations and any current Seasonal Expressions idea book.

Only one week remains to take advantage of any of the above offers; once the clock strikes 11:59pm Mountain time on January 31, 2015 they will no longer be available.


This offer was schedule to end on January 31, but will continue for the remainder of the idea book's lifespan (until March 31, 2015). When you place an order on my OBA you will have an opportunity to add a free copy of Seasonal Expressions 1 to your order (this is limited to one free book per customer). This book is also available for viewing at my Online Business Address (OBA) at http://brendalapp.ctmh.com/ under Products > Idea Book and you can download a printable PDF (clicking the link will open PDF in a new tab) for viewing offline. As I have done in the past, if you live local to me and order $25 from my OBA, I will provide you with a free copy of Annual Inspiration and Seasonal Expressions 1.

Thanks for sticking with me this far. Finally, I posted a little information about the February promotion, Album Allure, on my Monthly Special page.

If you would like to make a purchase, the Shop Now button will take you to my Online Business Address. Your purchases provides me the time and encouragement to continue to create samples and cheat sheets.


If you have any product or promotion questions, do not hesitate to email me. You will also find me on Facebook at Brenda's Paper Crafts.
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